Gaming Leaks: They Happen. Sometimes they’re the result of hackers and dataminers, other times they’re caused by rogue employees or contractors, and sometimes they’re the result of a simple accident like someone pressing the wrong button or emailing the wrong person. However it happens, leaks in videogames are real and surprisingly frequent.
Videogame leaks have led to screenshots, videos, code and even playable versions of the entire game being bolted from the barn ahead of schedule. Fan feedback can cover a broad spectrum: excitement over a game that sounds great, caution over potential spoilers, or disappointment that a game — even if it’s not out yet — doesn’t live up to expectations.
And for developers and publishers, leaks are not only an ongoing problem, but a real source of concern, not only from a security standpoint, but also from people’s decision to view their unfinished work. Do you have a first draft of a novel somewhere on your computer? Imagine if you woke up yesterday and found out that the whole world was reading this and pointing out all its flaws.
Below we’ve collected some of the biggest and most notable leaks in PC gaming history, from upcoming games like GTA 6 (opening in a new tab) to blockbusters like Mass Effect 3 to old gems like the 2003 original Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. .
Grand Theft Auto 6
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
In September, Rockstar Games suffered a “network intrusion” that led to the leak of nearly 90 videos (opens in new tab) of in-development GTA 6 footage to the Internet. The footage, which was verified as genuine by Rockstar, confirmed some rumors about the game, such as it would feature the series’ first female protagonist and take place in Vice City.
The footage consisted mostly of short clips in debug mode, although some longer sequences, such as a diner robbery and a chat with a conspiracy theorist, were also revealed. While the overall story, most of the character details, and major missions weren’t spoiled, this hack still represents a major breach of one of the biggest gaming companies, one of the most highly anticipated games of all time, and it Very shocking that a hacker was able to do this. Lots of information and material.
A single hacker may have been responsible for a major hack of Uber around the same time. The FBI is already investigating.
Pretty much every Assassin’s Creed game ever
(image credit: Ubisoft)
Ubisoft has a long, long Its a history of game leaks, especially when it comes to the Assassin’s Creed series. Recently, details were leaked about several upcoming AC games ahead of the 2022 Ubisoft Forward presentation, including Mirage (opens in new tab), Infinity (opens in new tab), and Assassin’s Creed Red set in Japan. Contains the game code of the name.
These particular leaks were the result of a YouTuber who signed an NDA with Ubisoft but released details of the game on a secondary Twitter account, … Anyway, its busted (opens in new tab).
But it certainly wasn’t the first time an Assassin’s Creed game had been revealed before it was intended. Originally code-named Assassin’s Creed: Conquest, details about the game that would become Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate leaked well ahead of launch. Assets included gameplay videos and the revelation that the game would take place in Victorian London.
Leaks are nothing new for Ubisoft, whose operations spanning multiple continents and scores of employees (ever seen the credits for a UBI game?) have apparently made it impossible to keep a lid on its business. Information on games like Watch Dogs 2, The Division, Far Cry Primal, and other AC games were all leaked ahead of time.
Crisis 2
(image credit: Crytek)
A month before its release date in 2011, a nearly complete build of Crysis 2, including multiplayer mode and online authentication keys, was leaked to several torrent sites. Although it was buggy and contained many placeholder assets, it was reportedly playable start-to-finish.
Unfortunately, Crysis 2 became the most pirated game of the year, and while it’s suspected that the leak came from Crytek or an employee of EA, the culprit has never been publicly identified.
The Witcher 3
(image credit: CD Project)
The much-anticipated third entry in CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher series preceded a massive information leak after an employee’s Google Drive content was made public. The leaked files contain secrets about the RPG’s story, enemies, quests, notes on “boob physics,” and even the game’s many endings.
The temptation to dive into the details of such an eagerly awaited game must have been huge for fans, but we hope you managed to enjoy the surprise anyway. This wasn’t The Witcher’s first brush with leaks: several gameplay videos for The Witcher 2 were also dropped ahead of schedule.
mass Effect 3
(image credit: BioWare)
After an initial build of Mass Effect 3 somehow leaked to Xbox Live, Dataminers sank into the code and re-surfaced with a copy of the unfinished script. Many people noticed, naturally a lot of them immediately started complaining about the content.
Still, reaction is reaction. BioWare co-founder Ray Mujica said he takes fan feedback seriously, even if his fans are offering notes on a script they shouldn’t have seen. The changes made to the final script may have had some rewrites based on the notes received on their leaked version.
doom 3
(image credit: ID)
In late 2002, a year before its actual release, a demo of Doom 3 shown at that year’s E3 was leaked to the Internet, allowing downloaders to play the intro sequences and several early levels of the game. was given.
According to a memo written by John Carmack (which, if it was genuine, was also believed to have leaked), the source of the leak was an employee at ATI, who was later fired as a result. However, none of this has been confirmed, and whether the leak was accidental or intentional is not known.
Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source
(image credit: Valve)
Originally planned for September 2003, we wouldn’t see the release of the Half-Life sequel until a full 13 months later, until Valve’s network broke down and the source code, maps, models, and features of HL2 and Counter-Strike were released. Playable builds of: Sources were stolen and leaked.
The culprits are eventually arrested by German authorities when Gabe Newell pretends he is interested in hiring one of the hackers to work at Valve and obtains his contact information. The trial resulted in a two-year probationary sentence for one of the hackers, and Half-Life 2 was not officially released until November 2004.
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm
(image credits: Blizzard)
Blizzard’s StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty expansion was released in March 2013, but part of it arrived prematurely. A video of the end of the single-player campaign was leaked before the expansion even landed. While it was a rough animatic without lip-syncing and had some placeholder storyboards, it was still a massive spoiler to the story.
Although Blizzard wouldn’t confirm that it was real, lawyers immediately issued cease and desist letters to the sites hosting the video, a pretty strong indication that the leak was the real deal.
call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
(image credit: Activision)
Back in May of 2011, Kotaku received a ton of information about the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, about six months before it was scheduled for release and before it was even officially announced. . This information included story details, screenshots, and details about the game’s weapons, levels, and modes, apparently from multiple sources within the developer and publisher.
In response, the developers had to ramp up their marketing plan, and immediately released several trailers for the game.
2
(image credit: Arkane Studios)
We learned about the existence of Dishonored 2 in an embarrassing way: While rehearsing its first E3 press conference, Bethesda broadcast live on Twitch, no less — a conversation between members of Arkane Studios (developer of Dishonored) in which Harvey Smith was mentioned (Director of Disrespect).
After a few minutes of chatter someone finally realized it was going live on the internet and shut it down, but by then it was too late: two thousand fans were listening the whole time.
World of Warcraft: Judgment
(image credits: Blizzard)
Before participating in a closed alpha, participants are often required to agree not to share details of their experiences. It’s really hard to make sure they follow that agreement, as it is with World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Prior to the expansion’s appearance at BlizzCon, an alpha tester posted a large amount of information about Cataclysm online, including screenshots and videos, character classes and details on races, dungeons, and other features.
The information was removed after Blizzard released Takedown, reminding the player that an ‘NDA’ stands for non-disclosure agreement and is legally binding.
Predator: Shadow of Chernobyl
(Image credit: GSC Game World)
In 2003, a pre-alpha for Stalker (which wouldn’t even come out for the next four years) was leaked to the P2P network, and while it took some configuration to work and was missing things like enemies and beasts. Even then, it was playable.
Ironically, the mod called Lost Alpha, which attempted to restore the game to its pre-release promise, was also prematurely leaked by beta testers, prompting modders to release their work early and pay the official payment. Was forced to ruin his plans to become. Expansion.
This article was originally published in 2015 and has since been updated.
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